The joy of music should never be interrupted by a commercial.

The remark expresses Bernstein’s conviction that music—especially when presented as an art meant for deep attention—should be experienced as an uninterrupted emotional and intellectual arc. By objecting to commercial breaks, he is not merely criticizing advertising but defending the integrity of musical form: phrasing, tension, release, and cumulative meaning can be damaged when the listener is jolted out of the sound-world. The quote also reflects a broader mid‑20th‑century anxiety about mass media’s tendency to treat art as “content” to be packaged and monetized. Bernstein frames listening as a kind of shared, almost sacred time that deserves protection from market intrusion.